Bad Ideas: Genetic Memory
by Known Unknown
Summary: No matter what the intention, tinkering with one's own biology while still recovering from having your genetic code turned into swiss cheese is not exactly the wisest thing to do - even if you're a genius. Sometimes it's not what you add, but what stays with you that you should be the most afraid of...
1. Genetic Memory

**Disclaimer:** I certainly don't own Big Hero 6 - Marvel does - nor have any ownership over the characters Disney created for the animated universe. Fun to think about, though.

* * *

**Bad Ideas: Genetic Memory**

The experiment was actually working, despite how terrible her new surroundings were. If she were prone to bouts of humility, Karmi would admit she was kind of surprised.

_Then again,_ she thought with a smirk, _you can't stop progress, can you?_

It wasn't a luxurious laboratory in Sycorax. Nor was it a perfectly tailored workspace at SFIT. It wasn't even a smaller scale station, someplace less prestigious but still willing to accommodate the needs of a genius. It was just her parents' basement, hastily thrown into a makeshift lab without their full knowledge.

She felt like a castaway trying to live on a ramshackle treehouse, but - like the guy in that movie with the volleyball - Karmi wasn't going to give up yet.

Her parents were going to kill her once they found out what she was really doing down here. They had practically had her on house arrest since… what happened. They didn't like talking about it, which was cool – Karmi didn't like talking about it either. But keeping her home while they figured out wherever they wanted to flee to felt like a step too far. She was going stir crazy! They were living in suburb of San Fransokyo for now, far enough away to be safe in case "another maniac tried to blow up the city or turn everyone into kaiju" (her mother wouldn't let her correct them about the kaiju thing – technically, that had been something different), but close enough to see what she had left behind.

She _really_ couldn't stay cooped up with nothing but her thoughts – she could hardly believe she used to crave solitude. Now it just gave her mind an excuse let fragments from weeks ago wander into her head, terrifying whispers she couldn't even process…

_Attack. Capture. Follow. Anger! Destroy!_

_Protect Hiro…_

Thinking too hard about… what happened always gave her a headache. The whole thing was a blur, full of vague and frankly freaky memories that she wasn't sure she even wanted to have. And since she didn't _want_ to think about that – let alone about Hiro - here she was, secretly doing science in her pajamas and an old lab coat, hoping her parents didn't come check on her any time soon. Picking through viruses and empirical data was so much easier than picking apart her own traumatized brain.

Last week she'd had a real close call, when they almost caught on from the chemical burns on her sleeve. She wore gloves all the time now: it might have been suspicious, but it was better than the alternative.

Not that they were being reasonable. It wasn't as if she were messing with the same insane experiments Liv… _Di_ had inflicted upon her, or anything that bad.

Okay, _technically_ she was, but only by the slightest association. She wasn't foolish enough to get tangled into more any horrific mutagenic madness (the fact that she _had_ been foolish enough to get tangled in it in the first place was something she was currently ignoring). Di had used Sycorax' discoveries to exploit her and terrorize San Fransokyo, but that wasn't the _science's_ fault. And even after her terrible experience, even in this tiny, barely-functional "lab," Karmi's devotion hadn't changed: to use science to cure diseases and make the world a better place.

Not all of her work at Sycorax was confiscated: she was going to make things right. Liv… _Di – _she really needed to start remembering that – had stolen Karmi's chance to be the person she wanted to be: to be a hero in her _own_ way. It was only fair her crazy designs be the stepping stone to put the teen genius back where she belonged.

Her parents wouldn't understand. She wasn't even sure her… colleagues (it was still hard for her to call them what they really were: friends) would understand. Hiro would definitely have tried to lecture her about it, the hypocrite. She was going to miss that.

_Protect Hiro…_

She shook the cobwebs out of her head. _Not again,_ she sighed as she stifled a sneeze that could've upended her research. Why did that keep popping in there?

Obviously it was some aftereffect of… what happened. She wondered, not for the first time, if this was normal. Did anyone report Orso Knox showing any residual instincts? _Maybe he still eats raw meat like a slob,_ she thought with a laugh. Karmi was pretty sure she wasn't doing anything like that.

Maybe. Her parents gave her funny looks sometimes.

But this - for lack of a word she didn't utterly despise using - _protective_ instinct, these random urges to check in on someone she wouldn't even ever see again, leaving her sitting by her computer waiting for him to respond to the latest chapter of her fanfiction in his ridiculous username (it was so adorable of him to try, really) just to be assured he was safe. _That_ bothered her.

She thought back to her room, and the homemade cosplay she'd stashed in her closet. _Lab Lady_, she had called it – just like in her story. Ever since… what happened, she'd had this bizarre, laughable urge to _fight._ It was easy to check herself, though: it was a cool thought, but seriously! Imagine a kid like her jumping over buildings, fighting villains (all of which looked like LIv – or Di, she supposed – in her mind) alongside seasoned professionals like Captain Cutie and Big Hero 6!

Not that her beloved idol didn't need the help, what with the idiotic police chasing after his team like _they _were the bad guys, after all they had done for the city…

_Anger! Protect!_

She blinked again. Another of those ridiculous impulses. Enough of that noise: back to her _actual_ work. _This_ was how she was going to be a hero, and make Captain Cutie proud: by revolutionizing medicine in a way no one had since penicillin!

She called it the Genetic Antibiotic Stimulant. The GAS – she didn't even want to _think_ what Frederickson would have done with that. The inspiration – _just_ an inspiration, with maybe a basic designs or two – was Liv… _Di's _genetic cocktail chips. Genius as she was, Karmi realized that if something like that could be used to completely mutate a human being into a plant or a sasquatch…

… _or a fish,_ she couldn't help but think, _ugh…_

If it could be used to do that, surely the same science could be used to modify the body to fight diseases. And not the unnatural manmade kind, like the parasynths that started this whole mess, but real ones – viruses, vemons, genetic disorders, all sorts of things. Like a vaccine, she devised a way to introduce a bit of viral material into human DNA that would allow them to resist any harmful foreign bodies, not to mention heal much faster.

She could hear Granville - or Hiro – telling her that she was acting much too recklessly, diving into this far too fast. But while Karmi wasn't even sure she wanted to go back, Granville should have fought harder to keep her at SFIT instead of letting her go. Now she didn't get an opinion. And Hiro…

_Protec-_

She slapped herself in the face this time. _None of that…_

The problem was, before now she didn't have a way to tell if it worked. The biggest thing she lost being stuck here wasn't resources or technology – though that _was_ an annoying hassle - but the ability to test. She couldn't pop her solution into a simulation like at SFIT or use a control subject like at Sycorax.

But something about… what happened filled her with a sense of daring, that urge to _fight._ All she needed to do was wait until she got the sniffles. She spent all her time working in a dank basement, it was bound to happen eventually – and now it had!

Scratchy throat, check. Runny nose, check. Despire to throw herself back into bed and yell at anyone who wanted her to leave, check. Time to test.

Carefully, maybe even a little nervously, she pressed the GAS onto her arm. It was a patch – it looked almost exactly like the ones L- _Di_ used. Her parents were yelling at her in her head. Granville was yelling at her in her head. Hiro was yelling at her in her head. For once, she wasn't yelling back.

_Maybe this__** is**__ a bad idea…_ she thought, just those last minute jitters. It was too anyway, since she was already doing it. Unlike Liv's remote, this was automatic.

She tensed, waiting just in case she felt the cracking pain of a hundred muscles twisting into something inhuman.

But it never came.

Nothing happened at all, in fact. She sniffed, carefully – still clogged up. But that just meant she had done the job right. Obviously. She didn't know why she was even concerned.

The stimulant wasn't meant to wipe out her cold right away. This was going to take a little time, and she had planned for it. There was already a television and a couch down here all set up.

She jumped over the seat and plopped down for a few mindless hours, looking just like any other teen her age. "Hah," she laughed out loud, "if only the boy genius could see me now."

After a second, she grinned. None of those blurry, freaky memories popped into her head that time. Clearly, all this success was good for her focus. To tapped on the tv and started flipping through. Talk show. Mystery movie. Picture of Captain Cutie on the news. Rerun of some insipid cartoon…

_Wait a minute…_

She nearly dropped the remote, she turned back so fast. Right away, she was assaulted with Bluff Dunder's pompous face. But next to him was an image of a certain red-suited hero that made her sit straight up.

"Oh! It _is_ him! Captain Cutie!" She squealed, as if his image could hear her through the screen. She turned up the volume, until Dunder's voice came in nice and loud.

"… and as the manhunt reaches its second week, the San Fransokyo police report a significant milestone in the citywide manhunt for our formerly heroic former heroes Big Hero 6." Karmi let out a gasp as Dunder continued. "The new Chief of Police has sworn to hunt the team down after their collaboration with the dangerous monster known as Globby, and now the end is in sight!"

Suppressing a reaction at the word "monster" (now she knew what Honey Lemon meant, correcting her back then), Karmi leaned forward in her seat. She ignored a slight twitch in her arm, where she had touched the stimulant to her skin.

The image of Captain Cutie was replaced by a live video from San Fransokyo's Chief of Police Cruz. She was struck by a sudden wave of revulsion at the sight of him, so strong it surprised even her. But then, he one who turned her beloved idols into criminals. It was _his_ fault.

_Anger…_

"These so called 'superheroes' think themselves above the law," the Chief was saying. "But their reign flaunting this city safety will soon come to an end!"

"What do you know?!" She ranted to the television. "They're ten times the heroes you are!"

Naturally, the broadcast didn't react to her response. Bluff Dunder continued the conversation, chuckling amicably. "And here I thought Big Hero 6 was doing lots of good for the city. Shows what I know, huh?"

"Yes," the Chief replied, frowning. "This fair city, bless it, has given these vigilantes the benefit of the doubt. But it's time to treat them like the criminals they are."

"No!" Karmi shouted, surprising herself again. She chucked one of the couch pillows at the television, but it went wide – she would need to work on her throwing arm. "Stop _calling _them that!"

_Don't you dare say that about him! _Her thoughts ran frantically. She barely had control over them. _Just… stop it!_

But the Chief did not stop. He continued, relentlessly in Karmi's eyes. "And we have now acquired new information that will allow us to strike a decisive blow! We're cutting down their avenues of escape – soon, they will be hunted down and brought to justice."

She froze… or at least, time seemed to stand still. She felt another spasm, running further up her arm, but ignored it. _Hunted down?_ she thought, shaking uncontrollably. _**Hunted down?**_

Those words struck a chord, something dissonant and chaotic. Like a whirlwind, terrible memories flashed across her eyes. Hunting down prey on command. Mindless, animal fury, gnashing teeth...

_Protect Hiro! __**Protect Hiro!**_

She gripped her head to work through the haze. Why was she thinking of Hiro at a time like this? Why was the thought of her beloved hero in danger dredging up… what happened?

This wasn't the first time. When she wrote her fanfiction – replacing Captain Cutie for Hiro – it just… felt right. But now, it was like something in the back of her mind was telling her something. Something she couldn't quite remember.

_Fight! Protect Hiro! Attack! Destroy!_

But they were different as night and day. Hiro was such a child, so pompous and annoying. He could be surprisingly kind when he wanted to be, and he rushed to help her without question when she needed it, but come on! Captain Cutie was perfection in every way!

So why did she keep putting the two together? What was going on?

Something was wrong. Memories of… what happened came by in a blur, but they always passed unless she wanted to think about them. But now they weren't going away. They were repeating over and over, like an alarm!

_Of course something is wrong! _She thought, the anger talking for her._ How could they do this to him! He saved them all so many times, but they kept attacking him! Kept victimizing him! __**How dare they?**_

If she noticed the long rips her fingers were leaving in the felt of the couch, she didn't react to it. She was too transfixed, too infuriated.

_Protect Hiro! __**Protect Hiro!**_

She gasped. _No! Focus… focus!_ She couldn't stop the flashes, now. They just kept coming. She was attacking Hiro. Liv… Di was speaking to her, telling her what to do. She was attacking Hiro, but she didn't want to…

_No!_ This was bad. Something horrible was affecting her, and the tv was clearly making it worse. She wasn't just overreacting, she was infuriated! She had to turn it off so she could figure out what was going on, but her hands wouldn't do what she wanted them to.

And Chief Cruz was _still _talking…

"It's hard to think of them this way, I know," he said reassuringly, staring at the screen. The sound was like nails on a chalkboard to her. "But we'll all be safer once Big Hero 6 is gone for good."

"SHUT UP!" Karmi roared, leaping to her feet. She threw another cushion at the television – this time, the projectile clipped the edge and knocked the plug out of the wall. The video cut out, but she was beyond caring.

She clutched her head, trying to still her ragged breath. Somewhere, she still realized this wasn't right. It had to be the GAS. She had done something terribly wrong! But logic was drowned out. Something far simpler and more instinctive was pushing it aside.

_They can't do this…_

_Protect Hiro. _

She was still shouting at the tv, though it was no longer listening. And in any case, she was no longer speaking words.

_How __**dare**__ they do this!_

_**Protect Hiro! **_

She didn't quite know or care where she was any more, but she had to control herself. She had to calm down. No… she had to _**get out!** _She rose, now finally seeing with perfect, unrestrained clarity.

_I'll make them stop! I'll __**mAke tHEm PAY!**_

_**PrOTecT…**_

* * *

She woke with an undignified snort on the floor of her makeshift lab.

Immediately, Karmi pulled herself up into a sit. What if her parents saw her sleeping on the ground? They were already going overboard, she didn't need them assuming something was wrong with her too.

But why was she on the floor anyway? Last she remembered she was working on the Genetic Antibiotic Stimulant, then she was observing her physical state, watching that terrible news report (she really should send in a complaint to the San Fransokyo police. Maybe a letter?), and then… nothing. It wasn't like her to be forgetful… what happened nonwithstanding.

She must have worked herself into a stupor again, she realized – just like Honey Lemon did that one time. Except this was worse. She lost her lab coat somewhere, which made her realize she obviously needed to replace her pjs - they were starting to tear.

She really ought to start checking herself more diligently. Karmi didn't have strict lab scheduling hours or Professor Granville any more to force her to leave, should she spend too long on a particular experiment. Another thing she missed about home… or just SFIT now, she guessed.

She stood herself up, and the first thing she realized was how utterly **exhausted** she was. Ever muscle was on fire, like she had just run a marathon. She took a deep breath, but it only seemed to make it worse. This is why she didn't exercise much!

The second thing she realized was that her deep breath was through her nose. She breathed again – no clogging, no sniffle. No tired bones or scratchy throat. Her cold was gone!

"Of course! The stimulant must have overworked my body to excise the virus!" She gasped. "This is-" She nearly whooped in excitement, before her body definitively said no. "-_painful_, ow! But it's a real breakthrough!"

No one who was on the fast track to curing disease could be help back by mere exhaustion! This was cause for celebration! Maybe even a victory jig where absolutely no one would be able to see her.

Her muscles screamed for mercy, and she decided to amend her statement. This was cause for a nice sit down in front of the television while her body worked through the pains of progress.

Just one problem: The tv was unplugged.

"That's odd. When did that happen?" She mused. She was only one who came down here, and she certainly didn't remember unplugging it. Shrugging, she figured it must jostled out somehow and decided to roll with it. Unfortunately, that meant she had to drag her aching legs over to the wall and plug it back in herself.

_Just perfect…_

She was still standing when the video came back on – she could hardly believe she was too tired to _sit_ of all things. The channel was already on the news as the video came on, and she knew she really should have ignored it and turned to something more scientific, but given that she was only here until the exhaustion passed she decided to keep it on.

Besides, there was something strange in the report tonight, and she got the strangest urge to keep watching. After the success she just had, there was hardly anything the city could throw at her that could ruin her mood.

Bluff Dunder was on the screen again. Karmi pouted harmlessly at his ridiculous mustache - still thinking what she heard that morning - before really listening to what he was saying.

"… this just in, the San Fransokyo Police Department is still in a state of panic after the major incident this afternoon."

_Good, _she thought ruthlessly, though she knew she shouldn't. _Serves them right for picking on Captain Cutie…_

She blushed, even though nobody was around to see – let alone hear her thoughts.

…_a-and the rest of Big Hero Six, of course._

But the satisfied smile on her face at her idols' enemies' plight soon slid to the ground, once Bluff went on. "Eyewitnesses describe it as…_ something –_ spooky, isn't it? – that tore through the San Fransokyo Central Precinct early this afternoon. The devastation was immense, and many of our finest were rushed to the hospital in critical condition – though lucky, there are no losses expected."

Karmi's heart sank with a terrible feeling, and tired or not she dropped onto the couch. Across the screen flashed pictures – mostly from phones – of officers being thrown from the building, being taken away in ambulances, broken glass and shredded metal. And every once in a while, a blurry, shadowed image of something clawing through the walls…

There was nothing else to make of it. Like Bluff Dunder said, it was a… "something." Karmi couldn't tell what it was from those dark images any more than the police apparently could. But for some reason, its shadow gave her a primal thrill of terror.

Okay, no. This was horrible. Why had she been so happy about it?

"No eyewitnesses or victims have stepped forward with a clear description of the creature – as if it came in like a blur – but police currently believe it to be an aftereffect of the clone Diane Amara's terrible attacks on the city some weeks ago."And that just made it worse. On instinct, Karmi backed away from the tv, as if Liv… Di would suddenly jump through it. "And it is _still_ at large. Citizens are encouraged to lock their doors and – should they see anything with fangs or claws in their vicinity – scream in terror before calling the authorities. Chief Cruz had this to say:"

Bluff Dunder's face disappeared from the screen, replaced with Chief Cruz at a crowded press conference. Despite the awful situation he must have been in Karmi couldn't push back that wave of dislike.

A low growl escaped her throat, but she didn't notice it. She just kept watching, muttering under her breath.

"As of tonight, the manhunt for the _fugitives_ known as Big Hero 6 is official postponed!" The Chief span, as if even saying it was like a punch in the face. Karmi felt a wave of triumph, despite herself. "All available units have been scrambled in search of this… _thing._ Our number one priority is the safety of our citizens. No monster will harm another person in this city."

Karmi scoffed. _Yeah right…_ where were they when the monsters were harming her? Nowhere, but Big Here 6 was there. Where were they when_ she _was the…

A sharp haze shot through her head at with line of thought. _Attack… Anger…_

Okay, clearly that was enough letting her mind wander for today. She really needed to talk to someone about processing those memories, before she gave herself an aneurysm or something.

When she looked back up, Bluff Dunder was back. "Words to live by, Chief." He was saying. "As for me, I'm going to be hiding under my table with a broom tonight. Just FYI. And that's the news!"

Karmi turned off the television, having been left far less at ease than when she turned it on.

She hated thinking it, but maybe her parents were right to take her out of San Fransokyo. Things weren't getting any safer there, not if there were still monsters on the attack. She couldn't do monsters again. She just… couldn't. At least wherever they were going to send her, terrible things like that wouldn't follow.

Her hand traced over couch, and her touch found the deep grooves that had been left there hours before. She nearly fell on the floor: had a wild animal gotten in while she was out? Or maybe…

_No_, she thought, laughing at her own paranoia. Wherever that monster was, it was miles away from here. _Probably just a raccoon or something._

Karmi looked up and finally noticed the mess: beakers were on the floor, scratch marks were all over the walls, a couple pieces of furniture were upended. How in the world did she sleep through _that?_

She would have to be careful, or she really would turn into Honey Lemon. She remembered all the times the others had ruined her samples or flooded her lab, and almost smiled.

But she had no time or patience for sentimentality, as usual. She just hoped whatever caused all this was no longer here. It didn't look like it, but…

Maybe, she thought, her eyes nervously tracing the room before resting – for some reason - on her antiviral serum, _I should make myself scarce_. She stood up and slowly took to the stairs, tightly gripping the handrail – she was just so _drained_, even after those few minutes of apparent rest. Hopefully she hadn't traded one illness for another. Last thing she wanted to do was end up like the real Liv Amara.

There was nothing for it but to tell her parents something had gotten in and get some real – hopefully without clueing them in on what she had been up to. The last thing she wanted was for them to shut down her experiment now that she was making real progress.

But she could clean up the mess tomorrow, then maybe run a few more experiments. A shiver of excitement ran through her at the thought, despite how spent she felt.

Yes, she would definitely be running more experiments tomorrow. She almost wished her parents _would_ try to stop her. There's no way she would let them, this time.

Part of her wanted to grin. Another part was confused. Where did that thought come from? There was a phantom twitch where the GAS had planted on her skin. But it was nothing, just the aftereffects of a first test. _Just jitters,_ she sighed, allowing that proud grin. _I don't have anything to worry about any more._

Although… maybe she would check again to see if Hiro responded to her latest chapter before bed.

Again, she couldn't shake the feeling that she needed to confirm his presence. And again, she didn't want to think about it. All she knew was, she thought of him being alone out there in that city with shadowed monsters, and she thought of Captain Cutie being cut down by renegade cops, and the whole thing made her… edgy.

If she noticed the way her grip bent the wood of the handrail, or the growl that returned from deep inside, she didn't react. He was her friend. She cared about him - though which him, she wasn't sure. There was nothing odd about it.

Nothing at all...

_It's just good that there's always someone to pro... protect him…_ she thought, thinking of Big Hero 6 but unconsciously describing... something else. _Otherwise, I don't know what I'd do..._

She disappeared past the stairs, leaving the makeshift lab in the dark. On the table the plans for the Genetic Antibiotic Stimulant laid in pieces, ripped into shred by the claws of something savage and deadly - something that had made its exit, but was not at all far away...

* * *

**Author's Note: **City of Monsters was a fun arc. Reminded me of some of the cool monster arcs from back in the day, especially the one from the 90's Spider-Man series (which also did a whole season of that), so when trying to come up with another Bad Ideas concepts this was a natural choice.

I think I would actually dig Karmi as the Animated Big Hero 6 universe's Curt Connors or Kirk Langstom. There's a lot of fun ideas on how they could end the season, and this probably isn't the likeliest but it is plausible – them going the Two-Face or Varian route with her, albeit not with these specific circumstances - especially if Di comes back for the finale. Granted, this has her bringing it on herself, but this is also the Bad Ideas series. It's all about characters screwing up canon by doing stupid things. And what a more classic superhero stupid idea than testing mad science on oneself?

Writing Bluff Dunder was so fun he nearly took over the whole thing - true story. Getting into Karmi's head was fun too, thinking "wait, of _course_ she hates this," or having her react strongly to things characters like Hiro wouldn't - and vice vera.

But like the previous story, this was just something random I thought of to shake out the cobwebs and kick my writers block in the can, so don't expect more. I don't even have any other Bad Ideas ideas for other series right now – it's back to the things I'm _supposed_ to write.


	2. Genetic Memory: Part 2

It's funny. For a while I was totally confused about the watches and the people asking me when this was going to be continued, until I realized that the site never actually registered my designation of this as "complete." It was supposed to be a oneshot, but it didn't look like it.

But I guess that was more of an opportunity than anything, and with Halloween approaching I decided to give this a little continuation since people were asking. Though, since this is a horror genre story and a celebration of bad ideas, while I'm not going to do much more than the show itself might, I wouldn't necessarily expect the most tidy ending...

But without further ado:

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Marvel's Big Hero 6, or the additional characters and interpretations Disney created when adapting the concept. Just in case you didn't know that.

* * *

**Bad Ideas: Genetic Memory - Pt. 2. **

_Some Time Later…_

Hiro stepped up to the seemingly abandoned warehouse, Baymax by his side – both suited up for some action… though to an untrained eye, it didn't look like there would be any. As far as warehouses went, this one was pretty standard: not at all the kind of secure, hi-tech base these particular villains of the week were partial to.

He knew better, though. "You guys are sure this is where they are?" He whispered into his comlink, just to say it – he already knew the answer.

"Pretty sure. All the other leads dried up," Gogo's voice came in the other end. "Just don't do anything crazy until we get there."

He chuckled. "No promises."

The others laughed, but he could almost hear them rolling their eyes on their respective ends. He could hardly blame them for thinking he'd do something impulsive. He _was_ itching for a little payback.

It all started that afternoon, when some mysterious criminal – a dime a dozen in this town – hired the Mad Jacks to steal some device or another from SFIT. Which would have been bad enough, had they not decided to kidnap a certain scrawny kid on his way to lunch as a "guide" around the campus.

Kidnapped again! And on live television! He'd spent the entire crazy situation tucked under the arm of the lead Jack, watching the fight like a human shield. And there were a dozen reporters there within minutes (people were used to SFIT making action-packed news one way or another these days), so of course his face was plastered all over the news right next to Bluff Dunder's grinning face.

The gang was _never_ going to let him live this down. It's a miracle they hadn't gone into overprotective mode again.

Although…

"I'm still surprised you convinced your Aunt to let you out of the house for our 'study group,'" Wasabi said, and it was a sign of how close they had all gotten that he could _also_ hear him actually doing the air quotes when he didn't need to.

Hiro chuckled. It was lucky Aunt Cass was in a relenting mood tonight… though he was sure he could feel her watching him as he left that evening. Or something, anyway.

"I dunno what she was so upset about," Fred chimed in. "I think it's pretty cool! You got to be on the news! I am so, _way_ jealous."

"Freddy," Honey Lemon said gently. "We're on the news almost every day."

"Yeah, as Big Hero 6!" Fred shot back. "But does regular old Fred Frederickson get any screentime? I think not!"

"More than some of us, I think." Wasabi grumbled.

"Can I help it if my family's always up in the city's business?"

"Guys!" Hiro said sharply. Trying to force the conversation somewhere less argumentative. "We're all good. I'm just going to take a peek inside while I wait for you-"

There was a rush of shouting for him to dial it back, and he quickly got on top of it. "_Just to make sure they're there!_ Stop worrying, I'll be fine."

"Hiro…" came the soft but firm voice beside him, and he shrugged at his constant companion.

"I'm serious, Baymax." He reassured the concerned robot. "Just a peek. What's the worst that could happen?"

He went over to the door, and softly pushed it in. It wouldn't budge. That was almost to be expected – even with his suit he was just a teenage boy, and he wasn't going to be able to push open any lock the villains might put on their stuff. But the odd part was, it didn't _feel_ locked. It just didn't move.

He sighed. "I think the door is stuck."

"Good," Gogo grunted. "Now you have to wait. We're just crosstown."

Fred laughed. "At the rate we're going you could totally list that elemental table thing before we-"

Hiro was about to correct Fred on the "Periodic Table of Elements," good naturedly of course, when he heard a sudden sound from inside. It was difficult to make out though the thick walls, so he pressed his ear to the door… and heard a loud _BANG_, along with several crashes and – most concerningly – the sound of screams.

"Something's going on in there!" He realized. He whirled back to his companion, shouting. "Baymax! Rocket Fist!"

There was that chorus of objections again… "Hiro, no-"

"No time!" He said sharply, cutting off everyone before they could start. "Baymax, do it now!"

Baymax complied - Hiro jumped out of the way as a zooming gauntlet flew into the door, knocking it wide open. He rushed inside – Baymax at his heels – the both of them looking around for some clues as to what was happening.

The first thing he noticed was the door – laying there on the floor, something struck him as odd about it. It hadn't been locked or stuck, as he thought. Instead, it looked like something had wrenched the metal of the doors, twisting them together to keep them shut.

This didn't make a lot of sense, until he got a good look at the rest of the room…

They were right, of course. This was a Mad Jack lair. Comfortable but top-of-the-line lounge furniture was placed everywhere, amidst exercise equipment and welding tools – even in what was apparently their living area.

But it was difficult to tell, because all those things were wrecked.

All the furniture was smashed, or thrown about the room. The walls were covered in slash marks and gashes, some of trailed down to the floor – rending everything along their paths in two. Jagged puncture marks were visible all over the floor and walls, trailing into a hall at the far end of the room, as though something had been stabbing into the metal and concrete… or climbing over it. And despite the noise before, it was eerily quiet.

His blood went cold, and his anger at the Jacks evaporated. He had seen this before.

"G-guys? This just got way more complicated," He said into the commlink – and maybe his voice was a _little_ shaky. "I think the Jacks have had a visit from the Beast of San Fransokyo."

The banter and warnings stopped. There was a long silence, as the others processed this. They knew what this was too. _Everyone _was well acquainted with the Beast.

Nobody knew what it was or where it came from, but it had been terrorizing the city for weeks – appearing and disappearing to quick to be caught, each time turning another unfortunate target into a disaster area just like this… and anyone in its way got the same treatment. It was a miracle no one had lost their lives so far, but the emergency rooms were getting to be very busy.

No one could get a picture of it – it was too fast. All the heroes had to go on what people say: claws, fangs, nothing substantial. The obvious guess was that it was another of Di Amara's leftover pets – especially since its first attack on the central police station. But then the Beast seemingly went wild - going almost solely after criminals - which wasn't something Di was likely to want. And she was also keeping completely mum on the subject, so there was no getting answer there.

This was not where any of them expected to get answers instead.

"Nope! Get out of there now!" Wasabi shrieked over the commlink.

"We'll be there soon." Gogo added, and she sounded a lot more out of breath than she had been a minute before. The swoosh of her skates was speeding up. "Just hang back!"

"Hiro." Baymax said abruptly. Hiro turned to him, and saw him looking into the walls. "There are four life signs present in the building."

"… there's only three Jacks." Hiro realized.

Baymax nodded. "One of the life signs is… irregular."

Suddenly, a shape burst out of the far hall. Hiro recognized it as the female Jack, who was sprinting as fast as her legs could carry her. "The door's open!" She shouted, paying no mind to the two heroes standing in the room. "Go! Go! Go!"

Another figure entered behind her. It was the dark-skinned Jack. He was going a lot slower: leaning heavily on the wall as he limped along, clutching something deep in his side. "But… but Jack! He's still back there!"

"Leave him! W-we'll regroup later!" She shouted back, without turning around. "We have to get out _now_!"

The female Jack ran through the door and, the moment she was in the free air, activated her jetpack. With a trail of smoke in the night sky, she was gone.

"I… wait…" the other Jack groaned. He tried to take a step away from the wall, but couldn't do it and collapsed on the floor in a fetal position. "I can't… wait…"

Ignored though they were, Hiro knew it was time for him and Baymax to make a difference here. "Baymax, see to him! Make sure he's alright!"

He needn't have bothered. Baymax was at the Jack's side even before Hiro finished his sentence – the Hippocratic Oath ran deep in Baymax' programming.

"On a scale of one to ten…" He could hear Baymax saying gently, like a friend - even though the man was their enemy.

Hiro put the sound out of his mind, he'd heard that line a hundred times by now, and turned back to the hallway. There were no more crashes or noises at all coming from down there… but that didn't reassure him at all.

"I'm going to check-"

"NO!" Said everyone but Baymax, who probably didn't say so only because he was currently tending to a patient.

"Think about this, Hiro!" Honey Lemon pleaded, and Hiro winced. She could always be the hardest to refuse. He could just see her puppy dog stare. "You can't jump into a fight alone!"

But Hiro wasn't stopping. "We have to know what we're getting into. I'll stay out of sight." And with that, he muted everyone. They would give him the business later, but he could risk the distraction.

Slowly, he inched down the hall. As he left the room, he could hear the injured Jack whisper from the floor: "be… be careful." And by the time he reached the end of the hall, he thought maybe he was being a bit _too_ careful. He was jumping at shadows way more than his pride could ignore.

Hiro gulped. He knew he could be impulsive, but he wasn't stupid. He really didn't intend to start a fight – let alone with a monster – all by himself.

But people didn't always get what they intended - he really should have known that by now. Today, he wasn't going to get to do the smart thing, not in the midst of doing something stupid.

At the end of the hall was a large room: the Jacks' command center, where they must have planned the afternoon's heist. There were computers everywhere lined with more equipment, and a large screen that now showed nothing at all thanks to a large through the middle. In fact, nearly all the computers were wrecked.

Most of the lights were cut, and the few that were still working flickered too quickly for anything to be seen clearly. All that was left was the dim glow of the few screens that hadn't been destroyed – definitely not enough to get a good look.

But there was no mistaking the unconscious Jack at the other side of the room – the leader, Hiro remembered from earlier. How could he miss the mistake the man who held him hostage that say? Nor could he miss the hulking shape clutching him violently in it claws – the Beast of San Fransokyo! And he definitely couldn't mistake the jaws that were even now stretching over the Jack's defenseless head…

"No!" Without thinking at all, Hiro jumped forward. He flung a couple of his magnetic grapplers at the monster and _pulled_. Miraculously, it worked – the Beast was yanked away from the head Jack, who dropped like a sack of potatoes.

The Beast crashed into some equipment to the side, but wasn't down for long. It was too dark to see anything but a dark blur, but that blur leapt to its feet and turned, growling, to the sudden intruder.

"Wuh oh…" Hiro gulped. He hadn't thought this through at all.

And there wasn't time to think, either. The Beast rushed across the room in seconds, throwing everything out of its way in a blur of single-minded focus – and that focus was nothing but Hiro himself.

Hiro threw his hands over his head. He wasn't going to be able to stop it or get away in time, but it was all he could think of. He shouted, just as the Beast lunged for his head… "BAY-"

He stopped short. Nothing happened.

"-max?"

Wasn't it supposed to be mauling him by now? He wasn't _complaining, _exactly, but still.

He looked up. It was still there, grey in the dark room, but it was just sitting there watching him. It was a surreal moment, to be sure. And though he couldn't clearly see it, something about the monster almost looked… _familiar._ There was definitely something he recognized.

He didn't know what to do. Should he call for Baymax? Should he try to run? Should he knock it away? Anything he did could set this thing off again, as far as he knew, but he had to think of something and- _oh no, it was leaning into him!_

He winced again, and once more got a surprise. Instead of a bite, he got a… rub? He looked down. Was the monster _snuggling_ him? It almost sounded like it was purring What the-

But then, now that it was right on him, he finally got a decent look at it: the stretched and tattered clothes, telltale signs of an unwilling monster. And on its left arm, a familiar pair of red and green bracelets.

Hiro's heart fell into his stomach. "No… it couldn't be…" He whispered. "K-karmi?'

The monster reared back at the sound of the name. It wasn't quite the same as it was, but now that he knew why it felt familiar he couldn't unsee it. And realizing it, it now almost seemed scared of _him_.

Then it leapt straight up, into the darkness. There was the sound of a loud _CLANG_ from the ceiling, and then the Beast of San Fransokyo was gone. And with it, Hiro's normal stress level.

A second later, Baymax flew in the room – reacting to Hiro's shout earlier. Hiro just pointed to the head Jack, where he lay at the far end, and hoped Baymax could stabilize him. The poor mercenary (and boy was that odd to think) looked like he had been run through a shredder.

While Baymax took care of that, Hiro instantly unmuted everyone. As their voices came on Hiro could hear them arguing about the roads - apparently Wasabi had gotten caught in traffic, and the others were too worried not to leave him behind.

"Guys!" He tried to shout, though it came out kind of like a squeak.

"Hiro!" Honey Lemon said instantly. "Don't scare us like that!"

"Not cool, Hiro!" Fred and Wasabi said at the same time, before there was a quick "Jinx!" from Fred. Gogo just grunted disapprovingly, a sign she was going to have a _lot_ more words, potentially painful ones, later.

"That doesn't matter right now!" He said quickly. "I think I found out something important about the Beast." He took a calming breath, not sure he was about to say it. "I… I think it's Karmi."

There was another long silence.

"Hiro," Honey Lemon said hesitantly, "I know you've been worried about her ever since she… left… but-"

"I saw her! Up close!" He said, then quickly added more when he realized what their reaction would be. "Yell at me about it later! She's a little different than she was, but I got a good enough look to recognize her! And she… er…"

He stopped short. He was _not_ going to let them know it was snuggling him like a cat. No way was _that_ ammunition being passed around the group, especially not to Fred or Honey Lemon. But he had to say something. "Ithuggedme," he spat out. Even _that_ was going to be trouble.

Fred was already chuckling. Curses. "What?" He got out, between giggles.

Hiro sighed. "It hugged me. Just for like a second. And it didn't hurt me."

Another silence, during which Hiro turned so red he was sure Baymax would comment on it at any second.

"Okay, I'm sold," Gogo's voice came in. "That's definitely Karmi."

"But how?" Wasabi said. "She got cured just like everyone else, and none of the others are turning back into monsters."

"Maybe she's different," Hiro said. "She had a chip, I remember. Everyone else had a patch."

"Or maybe she did it herself," Honey Lemon added. At Hiro's insistent "she wouldn't-", Honey quickly clarified. "I don't think she'd ever turn herself into a monster on purpose, but… Karmi's a scientist, and she's a little like me. Sometimes she goes too far. And unlike me, she specializes in the same branch of science that mutated her in the first place."

"Classic Dr. Jekyll!" Fred added, somehow being both helpful and unhelpful at once, as usual.

"But that doesn't explain why she's been attacking people!" Wasabi said, sounding as frustrated as Hiro felt. "Especially if she did it herself and isn't under Di's control!"

"Actually, maybe it does," Gogo breathed, as a sudden idea came to her. "Hiro, what did you tell us Karmi did when Di ordered her to attack?"

"She…" Hiro stumbled over his words. He wasn't sure how this was relevant, and it wasn't exactly the most cheerful hour of his life. "She wouldn't do it. She knocked me out of the way and fought back. She _protected_ me."

"Right," Gogo said. "She protected you, and in doing so beat the smirk off Chris' face. Now think about it. Weeks ago, Chief Cruz was cracking down on his hunt for us – for _you!_ He made a whole statement on the news about it. But then the Beast shows up for the first time and attacks the police station, and what happens? The manhunt is put on hold."

Hiro froze. "And everybody else…"

"The Jacks? On the news today, kidnapping you. Front and center," Gogo continued. "And I'm willing to bet that all the other criminals that were attacked ones that gave us trouble, and were on the news about it."

"Gogo is right." Hiro looked up. Baymax was standing there, his red armor a lot easier to see in the dark. "The leader of the Jacks is heavily injured, but will remain stable until the ambulance arrives. They have already been called." He said, addressing the elephant in the room first. "And yes. All the known victims of the Beast of San Fransokyo had widely reported conflict with Big Hero 6, particularly conflict in which it seemed as though Hiro was in jeopardy."

Hiro flushed. The news always made it look more harrowing than it was, and since everyone assumed he was the "leader" or something, they always exaggerated times when a villain's shot missed him by a mile. It could be very annoying.

And in this case, it was a lot worse than annoying. "You don't think…"

"… Karmi is still acting on those last instincts from when she was a monster," Honey Lemon continued the thought.

And Wasabi finished it. "… and when Hiro gets into danger, she goes on the attack."

"Aha!" Fred said. "Classic werewolf!"

"I thought you just said she was Dr. Jekyll," Wasabi drawled.

"It's a free country. She can do a little genre fusion if she wants to," Fred said right back. "Also, don't forget you owe be a soda from earlier!"

"What? You mean-"

Hiro spoke up to get things back on track. "But I wasn't in costume when I got kidnapped this time! Does this mean she knows that I'm… ugh…" He shuddered at the thought of the name. There were more things to like about Karmi than he was willing to begrudgingly admit, but her choice in names was not one of them. "… Captain Cutie?"

"… no, I don't think so." Gogo concluded after a moment. "If she knew, we would _definitely_ know about it. The way she's obsessed, she would have either contacted you or put a hint in her stories. But she _might_ know subconsciously."

"Di knows, and she wasn't shy about the fact that she knew while Karmi was right there next to you both, brainwashed," Wasabi said. "Karmi doesn't remember any of it, but that doesn't mean they're not still in the back of her head somewhere. She might not even realize it."

That all made so much sense. But it didn't make things any better.

"But that would mean she has no control over any of this," HIro said, instantly coming to a decision. "We have to track her, now." He threw his magnet grapples upward, and prepared to jump to the ceiling.

"Aw, come on!" Wasabi groaned, alongside the others. "We're literally just one mile away. Just _wait!"_

"Hiro." Baymax said severely, speaking up for the first in a while to – as usual – attend to his charge's well being. "This is a –bad- idea. Karmi, though unwell, is currently very dangerous. You should listen to the others, and wait for assistance."

"Yeah, man!" Fred warned. "Haven't you seen any horror movie? The guy who splits off to find the monster is always the one who gets caught first!"

But Hiro was out of patience. "This isn't a movie monster, Fred! It's _Karmi!"_ He snapped - probably too harshly, but he didn't care. "And right now, she's out here trying to bite people's heads off! We have to find her and stop her before she does something she regrets forever!"

"Hiro, don't!" Said the chorus.

"I'm not going to chase her," he allowed, just to reassure them. "I'm just seeing which way she went. We'll search together when you get here! Hiro out."

And with that he cut off his communicator again. Before Baymax could stop him, he swung to the ceiling. It was easy to find the vent that the Beast had used to escape – he swung over to it and jumped through.

The vent ended on the roof. He quickly looked out into the open, trying to find some clue as to where Karmi had gone. This was probably a step too impulsive even for Baymax, but he was sure his friend would give him a moment as long as the two Jacks still needed monitoring.

He searched back and forth, but… nothing. It was definitely strange. With how much of an indent the Beast's claws had made inside the warehouse, he was sure there had to be some clue to its escape. Claw marks in the rooftop, a displaced skylight, an impact or some bent trees down on the ground. It was almost like the monster had leapt clear over everything it could have hit.

Or… he realized too late… almost as if it it hadn't even left.

There was a slight crack just behind him. He whirled around, just in time to see a massive shape lunge in his direction…

* * *

Hiro didn't know what to expect to see around him when he awoke. He could tell right away just from the heat in the air that it wasn't the roof: he was somewhere indoors. Did the Beast drag him to some kind of makeshift nest? Was he about to open his eyes to find himself surrounded by splinters and bones, or down some dark hole where the sun never shined - where he would never find his way out?

As it turned out, no. But he wasn't expecting it to be a _couch._

He blinked. "What the…"

This was someone's living room. It was nice, and looked like he was somewhere in the suburbs. There was even a television on, though it was just running static. He had to be pretty far from the city, but it was still dark outside so he probably hadn't been there for _too_ long. Or at least, he hoped not.

The Beast must have taken him home, which would make this Karmi's house. He kept himself from gulping. This was not how he ever expected to see where she lived.

It was actually pretty peaceful. He was surprised it wasn't a mess, like the warehouse, It hardly looked like a monster tore through here. But there were still a few signs that things were not right, now that he was looking. There were lines in the arms of the couch, like claw marks, and there were dents in the wall near the television.

"Not good," he said to himself, trying to stay quiet. He had no idea whether the Beast was still stalking about, and while he would admit he cared a lot about Karmi, he didn't want to find out. "_So_ not good."

The others had been right, this _was _a bad idea. They had to have been going crazy now, with him missing. He reached up to his ear to turn on the commlink and tell them he was alright.

That's then he realized the third thing: his helmet was missing.

"Crud, where is it?" He hissed. He spun around, rushing as gracefully as he could around the room looking here and there for it. He had just managed to spot it in the corner when…

"H-Hiro?"

Darn.

It was her. Karmi shuffled into the room, staring at him in wide-eyed confusion. He couldn't have been more relieved to see her, especially since she was human again. But at the same time, this was even worse than he thought.

She looked _awful._ Her hair was unkempt, and her clothes were stretched and fraying. Her eyes were bloodshot, but also far too intense and alert as if she had taken way too much caffeine. There were stretch marks on her skin from the strain of shifting back and forth, and she had a slight limp where he had thrown the Beast across the warehouse earlier.

He winced. He never meant to hurt her.

Then he actually processed what she said. He yelped, panicking – here he was in uniform without his helmet, just sitting in her house! How was we going to explain this?!

He opened his mouth to say something, _anything,_ the first thing that came to mind, when suddenly she smacked herself on the forehead, whispering over and over. "No, _no! Stop! _It's not Hiro. It's not him! It's Captain Cutie. _Captain Cutie!" _She sounded almost desperate, as if it wasn't the first time she'd had to do this. And much like Hiro, it took her a few seconds to stop herself and realize what she was actually saying.

Her head whipped back at him so fast he thought she might hurt herself. Her eyes were wide again, this a grin to match. "Wait… C-Captain Cutie?!"

She squealed like she always did, and hopped up to him - though she stumbled some. Her words slurred together, just a little. "Oh... oh my gosh! What are you doing here?" She paused, and looked around with an eyebrow raised. "In my living room… hwhat?"

_There_ was some of the skeptic wit Hiro knew so well. He was almost happy to hear it. Even given that "he" was her hero, he would need a good excuse. He couldn't bring himself to throw out the monster in the room just yet.

"I'm here to check up on you, that's all."

"Why?" She said, going from excited yet skeptical to worried in a second. "Is… is something wrong? What's going on?"

"I… uh…" He wasn't expecting her to be so surprised. His heart dropped as he realized she really had _no_ idea. He didn't want to be having this conversation. But he also couldn't leave just her in the state she was in, not without knowing. He had to spit it out. "The… er… Beast of San Fransokyo."

Her eyes narrowed. "That horrible _thing_ from the news? The one that's been attacking people?"

Hiro choked on nothing at all, and turned away to keep Karmi from seeing his facial expression. Luckily, she didn't seem to notice.

"What does that have to do with me?" She continued, gasping. "Is what people are saying true? It's one of Liv… I mean, Di's pets, isn't it? Is… is it coming after me?"

_Parts_ of that were definitely true, and Hiro wasn't sure how to pick which bits to respond to. But Karmi seemed to take the worst from his hesitation.

"It is, isn't it?" She said, shaking. Or more like twitching? Hiro wasn't sure. "I know too much! That's why you're here! Are my parents and I in danger? What's it going to do?"

On second thought, he couldn't do this. How could he tell her that yes, they were all in danger, but the danger was _her_? He looked at the walls, with faint claw marks leading out the room _right_ behind her. And something was just off about the house in general, though he couldn't place it. How could she not have noticed?

But then, she was still looking at him like he wasn't Hiro. Something was wrong with her. The Karmi he knew would never allow her perception to slip like this. She was immaculate about everything, all the time, with no exceptions. Seeing her so disheveled and dazed…

He chickened out. "N-no, Karmi. It's alright. I'm just making sure it didn't come here. After your ordeal with Sycorax, you were definitely…" He frowned. "At risk."

She relaxed, though there was still something tense and twitchy behind her eyes that made him nervous. "You're amazing. Thank you," she smiled.

He smiled back, but felt like an idiot. Avoiding the subject wasn't fair to her, and not only that it was _dangerous._ The nearly grisly memory of a few hours before was still fresh. Innocent or not, she could still hurt somebody. She had to know. Her parents had to know, even if it eventually meant they took her even farther away - as long as she got better.

Then he froze. _That's_ what felt strange.

They had been talking for a while, not to mention however long Hiro was passed out on the couch, and nobody had interrupted them. And even if Karmi couldn't see the signs that something was wrong, why hadn't anyone else?

"Karmi," he said slowly, "where _are_ your parents?"

She blinked, still oblivious. "Huh? Didn't they let you in?"

She shrugged off the question before Hiro could answer. "They're around. But I… uh… haven't seen them in a while. Wow… I guess a maybe few days. No, but that's not right. It can't be..."

With a grunt, she stopped short. She was spacing out again. "No, they're definitely around here… somewhere..." She grabbed her head and groaned, shaking.

Hiro watched, a little shocked, as she slowly calmed down again and smiled at him as if it never happened. "S-sorry. Headache," she groaned. "Do you mind if we get some water?"

Hiro nodded, liking this less and less every second. He watched her leave in the direction of what he guessed was the kitchen, then zipped over to the corner for his helmet while he back was turned and practically punched the comm button. Nothing but static. It was broken, just his luck. It must have gotten wrecked during the kidnapping. He wouldn't be calling the others now.

Hopefully he was still in scan distance. Failing that, they could probably get Karmi's new address out of Granville. Come to think of it, that was a lot smarter plan than chasing after the Beast… as if he needed any more reason to feel stupid.

He caught up with her just down the hall. She hadn't even realized he lagged behind. But when she turned back to him, she jumped at the sight of his helmet and nearly stumbled over.

"Are you okay?" He asked, still wary.

"N-no, it's nothing! Just my mind playing tricks on me." She said sheepishly, but he could tell she was unsettled. "Stupid daydreams." Suddenly, she hissed to herself. _"Stop thinking about it!"_

Hiro gulped. Another mood swing. The others were right again. She wasn't processing her memories well at all. "M-maybe your mind is trying to tell you something," he said, eyeing the gashes on the walls. It was even worse out here. What were tiny clawmarks in the living room became long slashes that trailed down the hall. And all in a particular direction...

"Only to give him one more way to annoy me," Karmi scoffed, but with a fond edge to her sarcasm that he would have appreciated in any other situation. She walked right past the damage. Whenever she _had_ to look straight at the it, she gave a little shudder or clutched her head for a second then pushed away.

She could ignore it, somehow. But something had torn through this place, and unlike her Hiro knew what. While she turned to the kitchen, he broke away and started to follow the slashes.

"Hey! Captain Cutie? W-where are you going?" She said from behind her. He glanced back, and saw her reach for him - a little frantically. "Hero or not, you can't just waltz around here!"

He didn't say anything. He didn't want to get bogged down with another conversation. If he couldn't bring himself to tell her what was going on, he could at least get some answers.

All the clawmarks converged on a door near the foyer. While the rest of the house had barely any damage beyond the marks on the walls, this door had clearly been through it.

The hinges were splintering the wood at their base, as though something powerful had wrenched them open more than once. The space next to the door was dented from it slamming open too many times, and the doorknob was warped from being squeezed too hard. The Beast clearly used this door often. And as he came closer, he could almost hear… _something…_ on the other side. Hiro knew a lead when he saw one. He grabbed the handle to investigate-

-when suddenly, a hand shot out and slammed the door shut before he could open it.

Karmi looked more intense than he had ever seen her. Her eyes, still bloodshot, were glaring at him with something between panic and fury. Did she know after all?

"You can't go in there!" She screamed.

"… can I ask why?" He said, surprised. "It might be important."

"It's my basement. It's just where I do my private experiments. I..." Her eyes unfocused, and she grabbed her head again with her free hand. "… and I… I don't know why, but…" She slumped against the wall and trailed off, grunting from sudden vertigo.

Hiro took a deep breath. Time to bite the bullet. "Karmi, there's something going on here, and I'm pretty sure it's something terrible," he said gently, preparing to elaborate. This would destroy her, but she had to know. "We have to go in there. We'll do it together."

For a second, he thought he was getting through. Then suddenly, what "had" to happen changed.

With a loud WHAM, Karmi's hand shot onto the door again – spintering the wood. "I SAID YOU CAN'T GO IN! ONLY I CAN… AAGH!" She tensed – shaking violently. He tried to grab her hand to calm her down, but she pushed him away with an unearthly growl.

This was starting to feel terribly familiar. Hiro could heard cracking as Karmi began to convulse – so he tried to pull at the door instead, not sure what he was going to do, but no amount of pulling could get it to budge under her grip. The arm she set on the door left jagged marks behind, a heck of a lot like the ones left on the walls - and back at the Jacks' lair. Her teeth were grit, and as he watched they started to get… sharper.

Well, there was his confirmation, as if he had needed any. But that didn't help him. There was nothing to do but back off and hope that ended this.

"Okay, I won't go in!" He said desperately. "I promise! I said, I promise!"

Miraculously, it got through. Slowly Karmi shopped shaking. She collapsed against the door, breathing heavily. When she stood up straight again, she was back to normal.

"W-wha..?" Her words slurred, and she swayed on her feet." C...Captain Cutie? What are you doing here?" Hiro stared, too floored to give an answer. "O-oh, right." She said vaguely, shaking herself off after a moment. "You're here to check up on me."

She grinned, almost creepily chipper, and turned away from the basement door. "Well, there's nothing but useless junk in there!"

In all the time he had spent disagreeing with her over the past year, Hiro had never been so sure Karmi was wrong.

"Karmi…" he said, barely a whisper. "Are you sure you're alright?"

She looked around at him, still with the unfitting grin on her face. "Um… yeah. Why?" The last time he had seen her return from being a monster, she passed out right away. Now it looked like she was barely able not to. She was sickly pale, breathing in ragged breaths. Her arm was still twitching.

This was insane. He was about to say something, when he thought – _really_ thought – about what just happened. Forget chickening out, he couldn't risk doing anything any more that might set her off.

No, he had to get out of here. Now.

Again, he cared a lot about Karmi, but he couldn't deal with this alone. When his back was turned, he had allowed his friend to become a time bomb. The only way he could get her help was with the others.

"Just making sure, like I said," he blurted out quickly. He backed away slowly, stumbling over the rug as he inched to foyer. "But I have to go now. I'll be back, I swear," he said, trying to reassure the part of Karmi deep down that had to realize something was wrong.

"But… you can't leave," she said softly. A snarl hit her face, for a split second. Hiro almost didn't see it.

_Oh, no…_

He gulped. Maybe he could lean on his hero persona for this. "I'm afraid I have to, Karmi. There's always more people out there who need me. And… ugh…" He shuddered in a way that had nothing to do with fear. _"… Captain Cutie _will always be there where justice is needed! You know that."

"But you can't!" She snapped harshly, then cupped her mouth as she surprised even herself. A chill went down Hiro's spine.

"And w-why is that, Karmi?" He said, thinking a mile a minute. _Please don't grow fangs again. __**Please**__ don't grow fangs again._

"It's just… it's so dangerous out there. Everyone is out to get you. Monsters, criminals, the police. You have to stay safe." She hunched over again, growling. "I…_I'm_ supposed to keep you safe… rrrgh..."

He was losing her again. He had to say something!

He remembered what Gogo said. It wasn't just "Captain Cutie" she cared about. It was him: the _real_ him. Maybe he could use that. "And what about people like your friend Hiro? Someone has to protect them too." He gulped, hoping this didn't go over badly. "Why, just today someone nearly snatched him from school!"

Unfortunately, if anything this just made things worse than ever before.

She suddenly dropped to her knees and _screamed_ at the top of her lungs, clutching her head with her nails. Despite the danger Hiro stepped forward to help, but she wrenched away from him. "DON'T REMIND ME! They won't leave him alone! They won't let him be safe! They deserve to pay!" She spat out the last words through short breaths, staring widely at nothing at all. "Someone has to protect him. _I'll_ protect him! I _will!_"

She slowly looked back up at him with now inhuman eyes. _"Both of you!_ You'll be safe here _even if I have to make you!"_ She started to rise, full of terrible intent…

Forget saying something! Abort!

"Okay, okay! I'll stay!" He squeaked. She instantly relaxed, and her eyes went back to normal. "Just calm down Karmi. Please."

She blinked rapidly. She barely seemed conscious. "W-what happened?" She groaned. "S-sorry about that. You're staying?"

"Yes, Karmi." He said evenly. "I'm staying."

"Awesome!" She sighed. Her smile returned: weak, and not at all reassuring. "Captain Cutie in my house! So cool…"

"Yeah. Cool." He averted his eyes. "But, you said something about water?"

"Oh. R-right," she pulled herself to her feet and started shuffling, slowly and almost robotically, towards the kitchen. She was worse than ever, muttering incoherently under her breath before she disappeared around the corner.

Hiro had to move fast. The moment she was out of sight, he darted for the basement door again. This might land in him trouble, but if he escaped Karmi might change and rampage outside looking for him. He would have to count on his friends to track him down. Meanwhile, there was only one possibility he could use himself and it was almost definitely through that door.

"They're going to kill me for this…" He whispered to himself as he crept, mostly just to calm down. "Gogo's going to punch me. Honey Lemon's going to hug me like a vice and never let go. Wasabi's probably going to lock me in my lab from now on. And Fred'll have them all wearing those stupid beards for _weeks…_" He sighed. "Not to mention Baymax."

Somehow the robot's disapproving looks were worse than any of those, but he couldn't think about that now. He brought this on himself anyway.

Carefully, so that he wouldn't make any more noise, he pressed his ear against the door. There _was_ something on the other side. He gasped – those were muffled cries! He was pretty sure he had just found Karmi's parents. It looked like the basement, once Karmi's lab, had now become the Beast of San Fransokyo's nest. And Hiro was pretty sure that had something not gone wrong, he would have ended up down there with them.

That tore it. He opened the door and looked down into the dark. He would save them. Then, when the rest of the team got here, they would all save Karmi. They couldn't fail her, not now. So resolved, he took a step down…

… and stopped, as he felt a very inhuman grip tighten around his shoulder.

**The End…**

* * *

**Author's Note:** Happy (Two Days After) Halloween! Like you didn't all already know I was bad at deadlines. I'm sure that's Baymax's hand at the end there. I mean, it certainly could be. Hiro's probably fine. Maybe.

Anyway, for something I only did because of a mistake in classification this was kind of fun. It actually got me wanting to look into my Jackie Chan Adventures fic again, since the Beast of San Fransokyo ended up very similar to how I interpreted the Guardian of the Lotus Temple - but I have other fanfic responsibilities I need to get to before I think about doing that.

Though speaking of which, here's a "deleted scene I couldn't fit into the story due to the rest of it being in Hiro's POV. Mostly, this explains Karmi's behavior and why Hiro didn't end up in the basement at first:

-bonus-

_Through the shadow of night, She stalked through the Nest slowly and methodically - hyper aware of any potential threats. She disliked this Nest. It was too small. Too cramped. And - She knew - others knew about it. Tan suited "mailmen" that continued to transgress on Her territory. People that She remembered who once were safe, but might not always be. She would need to find a new one soon. _

_The others - the Parents - She could hear their voices down below, calling for Her. She would tend to them soon. But in her arm She held something more important for now. __After weeks of stalking and watching from the shadows, making suffer any who would dare to threaten what was Hers, she now finally had Him in her grasp. Soon He would join the others, where no one would ever harm Him again. S___he would then work on protecting the other Him. The original one. Hiro. __

__Then, happily, She would stand watch over them forever.__

_She was a lot more active now. There was far less time spent "resting." Far fewer interruptions that made her afraid and confused, where her mind wandered and her head hurt and her intentions drifted from what She knew was important. Soon, she hoped She would never need to stop.  
_

_She rested Him down on the softest part of the Nest's largest room. He had that armor on his head. While he was still unconscious for now, she knew he could use that to speak to his Pack. They, too, were once safe. Perhaps She should protect **them** as well. But for now, they would not understand._

_She gripped the armor, crushed the part he used to speak through, then pulled it off of his head. Then... stopped._

_ The face beneath the armor. It couldn't be. But it was... _

_She wasn't expecting to see this right now. Later, maybe, but not now. Not here. Not on Him! _

_It didn't make sense. She knew it was true in the back of Her mind, she did! But there was a part of her deep down that didn't understand it. That alone was enough to break Her focus. __She staggered back, through the door, as her thoughts erupted out of control.  
_

_**It's Him it's Hiro it's really Hiro! How could I do this to him what's happened to me what have I done?**_

_In her current state, she couldn't keep track of it all. And so, everything fell into a blur..._

_Karmi woke with a snort, and was annoyed to find herself sitting against the wall in the hallway and not at all in her bed like she was supposed to be._

_"Darn it, not again!" She groaned. She must have worked herself into a stupor again and fallen asleep at random. She found herself doing that so much more often than she wanted these days. __Like always since testing out the GAS for the first time, when she stood she still somehow felt exhausted."Ugh... Mom and Dad are going to kill me..."_

__In fact... "Mom? Dad?" She called out, wondering why they hadn't woken her. Where were they any way? It felt like ages since she had seen them, though a nagging feeling in the back of her mind **(protect them...)** told her that wasn't true. They were around, surely. She could just find them in the morning.__

_She shook her head to clear a few cobwebs. The hazes she once felt only when remembering... what happened... were now constant, but despite her mind felt clearer than ever. She supposed if these symptoms were lasting this long, that could be a bit of a problem. But as usual, she decided to put it aside for later. _

_This was science. If things got really bad, she could just stop the experiment... though she hadn't thought about that in weeks. So what if she was a little uneasy on her feet? ___Being on an actual mattress for once would probably fix that anyways. It was nothing.__

__But on the way to her bedroom she happened to look up, and froze. Forget getting in trouble for sleeping in the halls! What was that on the walls? There were jagged slashes all over the place. They were everywhere, trailing down the hall and leading back to... her lab. She wanted to say she had no idea what was going on, but the sight of them made her feel a terror not at the unknown, but at the familiar. They made her think things. They made her **remember** things...__

**__THEY DESERVED IT MAKE THEM PAY TAKE HIM PROTECT HIM-__**

__"Ah!" She hissed, holding her head to stop the flashes. This was nothing too, it had to be. Just more of those stupid daydreams. The slashes weren't real. They couldn't be. That would mean she... no, that was impossible.  
__

__There wasn't anything there at all. She had to put it out of her mind...__

_"Not good. So not good."_

_But that was no daydream! Someone was in the house! The thought of a trespasser in the house should have made her afraid, but instead it made her... determined. As if part of her knew what she would find. _

_So she hurried down the hall, to confront whoever it was..._

-bonus-

And that's that.

Like I said before, this second chapter is mainly there because I had the opportunity to make it. There isn't much farther I want to go with this, in part because I can't think of more that wouldn't either lose the horror angle or _completely_ turn this into an AU - which I never wanted to do at all, since the idea here was to think up a small riff on the source that could conceivably happen without changing things too much (this exact situation? Nah. But the whole Lizard thing is possible). Even this is _seriously_ pushing my intentions for this piece. But thanks for reading! See you next time!


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